1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to financial industries having unattended automated terminals for remote customer transactions in withdrawal and depositing of money. More specifically, this invention relates to enclosures or special buildings for the housing of automated teller machines comprising electronic computer systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With advances in electronics and computer technologies, the banking institutions have had available in recent years automated teller machines (hereafter ATM) that may be placed in unattended terminals at remote locations where high traffic in walk-up or drive-in clients and customers is likely to exist. To support these remote banking activities a new type of enclosure or building has been introduced into the market place to house the very specialized ATM apparatus.
ATM machines are essentially large steel safes, computer controlled to record transaction, dispense money and accept deposits as through a night depository. Typical ATM are self-contained in a cabinet and weigh from 1,000 lbs. to 3,600 lbs., depending on the model and manufacturer. They stand approximately 6 feet tall by 28 inches wide and 30 to 36 inches in depth with a safe door that opens from the rear side of the ATM. In order for a servicing bank teller to replace money or collect deposits the rear door must be opened for the interior components of the ATM to index out of its cabinet on roller tracks. People doing bank servicing or people doing repair or maintenance work on the machine itself require additional space on either side of the ATM to gain access to its computer and electronic components.
Typical enclosures for ATM applications have been designed such that a minimum depth of 51/2 feet is allowed to the rear of the ATM as required space for servicing the apparatus. But, since many banks have existing drive-up traffic lanes where the islands are 31/2 to 4 feet in width, the ordinary enclosures for ATMs cannot be installed without major foundation modifications and changes in traffic flow.
The Kiosk Unit of U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,723 is directed to walk-up drive-in applications, however, servicing of the ATM by bank personnel or by computer maintenance crews must be done from the exterior of the housing. Thus the electronic components are exposed to the uncontrolled ambient environment and the service personnel work in the open where they are exposed to all environmental and safety hazards with risks as potential victims of criminal activity.
The security booth of U.s. Pat. No. 4,121,523 is designed to improve security and enable a degree of environmental control, however, it is useful only for walk-in applications. Due to its cylindrical configuration, it occupies far more space than is usually available at drive-through islands or along narrow pedestrian walkways. This security booth has an outer enclosure into which customers gain access and a secondary inner enclosure for housing an ATM, or the like. Within the secondary enclosure a turntable supports the data processing and money transfer apparatus. The turntable and the enclosure doors are independently rotatable to enable selective access and permit involuntary retention of persons be they service personnel, customers, or criminals.